I would like to get some input from folks who own the Futaba RBT-1 (or the original HPI version). Pros, cons, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

I've been hearing mostly good things, but a few people have reported some stability issues. Our demo unit performs most of the pre-programmed motions just fine, although some screws need to be tightened periodically to keep everything solid, and it rarely gets through the demo scenario without falling.

I don't mind the flaky canned motions, because I'm modifying them anyway, but what do the rest of you think of this bot?

Hello, Robosavvy community!

I would like to get some input from folks who own the Futaba RBT-1 (or the original HPI version). Pros, cons, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

I've been hearing mostly good things, but a few people have reported some stability issues. Our demo unit performs most of the pre-programmed motions just fine, although some screws need to be tightened periodically to keep everything solid, and it rarely gets through the demo scenario without falling.

I don't mind the flaky canned motions, because I'm modifying them anyway, but what do the rest of you think of this bot?

I would like to get some input from folks who own the Futaba RBT-1 (or the original HPI version). Pros, cons, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

I've been hearing mostly good things, but a few people have reported some stability issues. Our demo unit performs most of the pre-programmed motions just fine, although some screws need to be tightened periodically to keep everything solid, and it rarely gets through the demo scenario without falling.

I don't mind the flaky canned motions, because I'm modifying them anyway, but what do the rest of you think of this bot?

I didn't experience that with the HPI G-Robot, which was built directly from the kit. Are your units RTW or kit?

Dave[TR] wrote:Hello, Robosavvy community!

I would like to get some input from folks who own the Futaba RBT-1 (or the original HPI version). Pros, cons, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

I've been hearing mostly good things, but a few people have reported some stability issues. Our demo unit performs most of the pre-programmed motions just fine, although some screws need to be tightened periodically to keep everything solid, and it rarely gets through the demo scenario without falling.

I don't mind the flaky canned motions, because I'm modifying them anyway, but what do the rest of you think of this bot?

I didn't experience that with the HPI G-Robot, which was built directly from the kit. Are your units RTW or kit?

Futaba's only offering the RTW version right now. I bet if I stripped the whole thing down and rebuilt it, I could make it a bit more solid. Does the G-Robot have the joints that pop out of place when too much force is put on them?

Futaba's only offering the RTW version right now. I bet if I stripped the whole thing down and rebuilt it, I could make it a bit more solid. Does the G-Robot have the joints that pop out of place when too much force is put on them?

Too bad. Of course it's their marketing decision, but for me a big part of the experience, learning, and satisfaction comes from assembling the robot and understanding how it works. It also gives me a lot of confidence when it becomes necessary to replace a part or servo.

I bet if I stripped the whole thing down and rebuilt it, I could make it a bit more solid.

You might be able to.

Does the G-Robot have the joints that pop out of place when too much force is put on them?

Yes, the US and Futaba versions are essentially the same from what I can tell.

The joints are designed that way to protect the servos from overtorquing and damage. If you check out the posts by C.U.E. (right after this thread) he explains how he disabled the joint popping so that he could participate in the ROBO-ONE soccer matches.

Of course if you modify them that way, eventually they will get stalled or overtorqued and blow the FETs. You see that with all the humanoids (and RC cars/planes) when the user sets them up wrong, or doesn't realize a servo is driving against its limits, or twists one.

Dave[TR] wrote:Futaba's only offering the RTW version right now.

Too bad. Of course it's their marketing decision, but for me a big part of the experience, learning, and satisfaction comes from assembling the robot and understanding how it works. It also gives me a lot of confidence when it becomes necessary to replace a part or servo.

I bet if I stripped the whole thing down and rebuilt it, I could make it a bit more solid.

You might be able to.

Does the G-Robot have the joints that pop out of place when too much force is put on them?

Yes, the US and Futaba versions are essentially the same from what I can tell.

The joints are designed that way to protect the servos from overtorquing and damage. If you check out the posts by C.U.E. (right after this thread) he explains how he disabled the joint popping so that he could participate in the ROBO-ONE soccer matches.

Of course if you modify them that way, eventually they will get stalled or overtorqued and blow the FETs. You see that with all the humanoids (and RC cars/planes) when the user sets them up wrong, or doesn't realize a servo is driving against its limits, or twists one.

tempusmaster wrote:Too bad. Of course it's their marketing decision, but for me a big part of the experience, learning, and satisfaction comes from assembling the robot and understanding how it works. It also gives me a lot of confidence when it becomes necessary to replace a part or servo.

tempusmaster wrote:The joints are designed that way to protect the servos from overtorquing and damage. If you check out the posts by C.U.E. (right after this thread) he explains how he disabled the joint popping so that he could participate in the ROBO-ONE soccer matches.

That's pretty cool. I was going to try something similar, but I can't really modify ours too much because we have to use it as a display unit for shows and such

Thanks for the info!

tempusmaster wrote:Too bad. Of course it's their marketing decision, but for me a big part of the experience, learning, and satisfaction comes from assembling the robot and understanding how it works. It also gives me a lot of confidence when it becomes necessary to replace a part or servo.

tempusmaster wrote:The joints are designed that way to protect the servos from overtorquing and damage. If you check out the posts by C.U.E. (right after this thread) he explains how he disabled the joint popping so that he could participate in the ROBO-ONE soccer matches.

That's pretty cool. I was going to try something similar, but I can't really modify ours too much because we have to use it as a display unit for shows and such

The one thing that I noticed during are KungFu matchs at Chibotica was that the servos keeped popping out of joint! That to me would be very annoying. I liked the speed and quickness of the robot but the servo problem has to be fixed!

The one thing that I noticed during are KungFu matchs at Chibotica was that the servos keeped popping out of joint! That to me would be very annoying. I liked the speed and quickness of the robot but the servo problem has to be fixed!

Gort wrote:The one thing that I noticed during are KungFu matchs at Chibotica was that the servos keeped popping out of joint! That to me would be very annoying. I liked the speed and quickness of the robot but the servo problem has to be fixed!

Apparently those are the clutches that are designed to protect the servos from damage. Basically they are doing what they were designed to do - but that doesn't match what some customers expect from the robot or assume it is capable of.

There's an earlier post that shows how one of the owners made mods to disable them so that he could participate in ROBO-ONE scoccer and the bouts.

Gort wrote:The one thing that I noticed during are KungFu matchs at Chibotica was that the servos keeped popping out of joint! That to me would be very annoying. I liked the speed and quickness of the robot but the servo problem has to be fixed!

Apparently those are the clutches that are designed to protect the servos from damage. Basically they are doing what they were designed to do - but that doesn't match what some customers expect from the robot or assume it is capable of.

There's an earlier post that shows how one of the owners made mods to disable them so that he could participate in ROBO-ONE scoccer and the bouts.